


magic (is a wonderful thing)

by FridayFirefly



Series: Magic Moments [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette April 2020, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Elemental Adrien Agreste, F/M, Fluff, Witch Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23738857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FridayFirefly/pseuds/FridayFirefly
Summary: The magical moment in which Adrien falls in love with Marinette, taking place in a world in which a cat isn't always just an animal, a scarf isn't always just an accessory, and the simple act of giving a gift can lead to something so much more.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Magic Moments [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709854
Comments: 17
Kudos: 113
Collections: Adrinette April 2020





	magic (is a wonderful thing)

**Author's Note:**

> **Written for Adrinette April Day 21: Magic**

Marinette worked on the birthday gift for hours. Making the scarf itself was the easy part. Picking out the perfect sky blue cashmere from her favorite fabric store, cutting and hand stitching the fabric into a scarf - Marinette could do that in her sleep. The hard part was the hand embroidering almost one hundred protective sigils into the scarf. Marinette was a threadwitch, meaning that her magic of choice was embroidering sigils. Every piece of clothing Marinette made had personalized sigils stitched onto it. The embroidery thread that Marinette chose for Adrien's scarf was nearly translucent, invisible to the eye unless it was in direct sunlight. She had chosen it specifically so that Adrien might not notice the thread at first. Usually, she only embroidered one or two sigils into the gifts she gave to her friends, but with Adrien, she couldn't help herself. She added protection after protection until the whole scarf was covered in them. Protection against the ill intent of strangers, protection against extreme heat and cold, protection against the cruel words of others, protection against misfortune, and the list went on and on. By the time Marinette finished, it was one of the most intricate pieces of woven magic she had ever created. She knew that it was an odd choice of gift, giving Adrien such a personal piece of her magic, but Marinette couldn't help wanting him to have it. Adrien was an important part of her life, and she wanted his birthday gift from her to show that.

As Marinette walked up to the gate of the Agreste Manor, Adrien’s animal familiar, a black cat named Plagg, jumped out in front of Marinette. Marinette jumped, spooked for a split second before she recognized the cat. “Hello, Plagg. You look very handsome today.”

Plagg let out a happy "mrew", and rubbed his head against Marinette's legs. Marinette bent down and used her free hand to scratch him behind the ears. 

"I don't have any treats for you today, just a gift for Adrien." 

Plagg pawed at Marinette's arm, trying to sniff the box she held in her hand. Marinette held it out for Plagg to inspect, knowing that the familiar was making sure that there was nothing nefarious in her gift to Adrien. When Plagg was satisfied with the gift he continued begging for Marinette to pet him.

"What a smart, handsome boy," Marinette cooed. "But why aren't you inside? If you're here, where's Adrien?"

"Right behind you," Adrien's bemused voice startled Marinette.

Marinette jumped, whipping her head around. She hadn't heard Adrien approaching. "Hi, Adrien. Happy birthday!"

"Thanks!" Adrien noticed the box and card. "Are those for me?"

"Yep! I make birthday gifts for all of my friends." Marinette handed Adrien the gift with a big smile. "I was going to give it to you at school today, but I accidentally left it at home. I hope you like it."

Marinette turned to walk away, but Adrien's hand on her arm stopped her. "Wait, don't you want to be here when I open it?"

Marinette froze. On one hand, she definitely didn't want Adrien to be outside when he opened. The sun was shining brightly overhead, and Adrien was bound to notice the sigils decorating the scarf. On the other hand, Marinette did want to be there when he opened it. It would be nice to see the smile on his face when he opened the gift, or to see him try the scarf on for the first time. In the end, her decision was made solely based on the fact that she didn't want to be rude and refuse to stay and watch him open his present. "Sure."

Adrien carefully opened the wrapping paper, ripping it delicately along the seams to reveal the white box underneath. He opened up the lid of the box and the scarf underneath shimmered in the sunlight, the translucent silver thread shining. "It's gorgeous," Adrien breathed. He gently picked the scarf out of the box and held it out to admire.

Marinette had to admit, it was the most impressive thing she had ever created. Adrien didn't have sigil-sight, so he couldn't see it the same way that she did. The way the sigils wove around each other, interacting, strengthening each other, was a work of art. What Adrien could see was the intricate patterns of thread, He could see the way the sunlight danced off of the silver thread, lighting up the scarf like flames were dancing around it.

"This is amazing," Adrien admired. "Are these all sigils? How many are there?"

"Seventy-three protective sigils."

"How long did it take you to make this?" Adrien sounded awestruck, in disbelief at the amount of work that Marinette put into making the scarf. He twisted the scarf around, admiring the complex web of sigils.

"About an hour every night for two weeks," Marinette admitted.

"I can't accept this as a birthday gift. You put too much time and effort into making it, you should keep it for yourself."

Adrien held the scarf out to Marinette, who shook her head in response. "I made it intending to gift it to you. The sigils will respond negatively to being worn by anyone else."

"I can't accept a birthday gift that you put fourteen hours into making."

Marinette suddenly had an idea. She would have preferred to think it over for a little while, perhaps make a pro/con chart about it, but now was the time for action. It was a risky plan, but if it worked it would be worth it.

"What if it wasn't a birthday gift to a friend. What if it was a gift of intention?"

Gifts of intention were the first stage of the complex (and extremely outdated) courting ritual of magic wielders. The gift of intention was a gift given to show that you were romantically interested in somebody. Traditionally, it also had the use of demonstrating the strength of your magic. 

Adrien looked bewildered. "Like... like a gift of intention for courting?"

Marinette nodded, suddenly a lot less sure of herself. What if Adrien got mad at her? What if she ruined his birthday?

Adrien's face broke out into a grin. "You want to date me?"

A smile returned to Marinette's face. "Yes. I've had a crush on you for ages, ever since that day you walked me home in the rain, but I never felt brave enough to ask you out. So what do you say?"

"Yes, but on the condition that I get to plan our first date. After all, now I have to find a suitable gift to give you."

"I was just kidding about the gift of intention and the courting stuff. We can just do this the modern way."

Adrien shook his head and teased, "No way. How else will you know that I'm a strong, capable water elemental who can protect you from the dangerous world."

Marinette sighed, but she was more amused than annoyed by his gentle teasing. "I give up. You can plan our first date, but you'd better be wearing that scarf."

Adrien wrapped the scarf around his neck. "I'm never taking it off. Never."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want this series to be continued, leave a comment so that I know that there's interest in a continuation.


End file.
